Earth Dam

[Nightz]

I've never done slope flying by would like to try.
I've got an earth dam in my neck of the woods. It's holding back a 300+ acre reservoir. The dam is about 3000ft long and from what I can tell has a rise of about 40ft. I'm not sure of the slope angle. What conditions should I look for to see if it's workable?

Thanks,
-Rocko

[sawman]

If the wind is blowing straight at it, go throw something off the top and see if it floats !

[slopemeno]

Does the wind blow straight into the front? How much wind? I've flown on slopes only 20 feet high, but the steeper and sharper the lip the better the lift will be. Post a pic, if you have one.

You might want to search online for local weather resources- lots of folks have micro weather stations, as do fire stations, water plants, etc. If you really dig it's amazing what you can find online. get to know what, say, west 15mph at the sewer treatment plant 5 miles away means at the dam site youre flying. Roughly the same? Bookmark some weather sites and compare.

A light plane helps a lot. A Dream-flight Alula is probably the gold-standard for micro-sloping, but things like a Zagi THL, Dream Flight Weasel, most Discus Launch Gliders (DLG's), etc will work great if built clean and light. Remember that every time you touch the controls it's like tapping the brakes, so small, smooth control inputs is key.

[Antonsoarer]

Go for it, small slopes generate a lot of lift but above a certain wind speed many stop being viable. These videos show my 36" plank on a small slope that works in winds down to 8mph.

Small slope fun (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=507296)

and some more at the same small site:

Close to the ground and still plenty of lift (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=917700)

and..

EPP makes for easy touch and go fun (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=741643)

Tony.

[merlinmurph]

40 feet is plenty, that should work well. Definitely give it a shot.

One thing to look for is what is in front of the dam that prevents clean air hitting the dam. If there are a bunch of trees upwind, you won't get much/any lift. Even if the trees are a a few hundred yards away, the lift will be marginal, especially at lower altitudes. You'll find this out when you chuck a plane out there. Have a ball!

[Nightz]

I'll have to collect some more info and give you guys an update.
I'll get some pictures too. Their are some trees below and close too.

Thanks for the feedback.

-Rocko

[Nightz]

I got some more info...
The dam is 50 feet tall and has a slope of 2 to 1.
I got this info from a guy who helped survey the site before it was built.

Either way, I'm going to start looking for a small glider candidate to try this out.

An aerial view:
http://maps.google.com/?sll=41.73944,-88.85222&spn=0.05,0.05

-Rocko

[2motheus]

I tried sloping an Easy Star at a site smaller than what's in your picture. There were trees upwind, as in the east half of your site.

My conclusion after a single session in a good breeze was that the trees not only reduced the lift, but they also created some tremendous turbulence.

My suggestion is that you go ahead and try something light, but stay on the side of the dam that has no trees upwind.

Tim

[Windependence]

Check out this video. This guy is sloping his plane off of next to nothing. The plane is called a Bug and was designed by Carl Dowdy. Another posible lite wind sloper is the Fry MKII by Steelhead products. Both of these have wingspans under 30 inches and would be able to be sloped on the dam in lite winds

Bug RC Glider (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ffH3WqJBHk) (4 min 35 sec)

Wayne

[AstroDad]

On windy days I always try to slope-soar the roof peak of my house. The peek is about 30 feet high. Sometimes it seems to actually work, but usually I am just kidding myself.